High School

Top 25 California high school boys basketball rankings: CIF Southern Section (12/31/2023)

Roosevelt will don the No. 1 ranking heading into 2024, while Long Beach Poly and San Gabriel Academy make Top 25 debuts

Tarek Fattal

The latest CIF Southern Section high school boys basketball rankings heading into 2024 and league play.

This past week's holiday tournaments showed a lot, but much more can change in January.

Roosevelt's Issac Williamson anchors win over St. John Bosco in Classic at Damien Platinum final

1. Eastvale Roosevelt (16-1)

The Mustangs take down St. John Bosco 68-65 to win the Classic at Damien Platinum Division. Brayden Burries, Darnez Slater and Issac Williamson make up the big three.

2. Harvard-Westlake (15-1)

The Wolverines suffer their first loss off the season in the Les Schawb Invitational final, falling to Columbus (Fla.) 55-54. Nik Khamenia had 19 points.

3. St. John Bosco (13-2)

The Braves were down by as many as 16 points against Roosevelt on Saturday night (50-34). They drop in the rankings ... for now.

4. Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks (15-0)

Notre Dame beat Alemany in the SoCal Christmas Classic final at South Pasadena. Lino Mark was named tournament MVP. Mercy Miller continues to score at will.

5. Mater Dei (14-1)

The Monarchs' only loss came to Long Island Lutheran on Dec. 15. They'll start Trinity League play with Orange Lutheran on Jan. 3, JSerra on Jan. 5, and St. John Bosco on Jan. 6 (at Crypto.com Arena).

6. JSerra (15-1)

The Lions suffered their first loss to Faith Family of Texas down at Torrey Pines, but bounced back with a quality win over one of San Diego's top teams, Montgomery. Sebastian Rancik and Aidan Fowler continue to lead the way. Big game against St. John Bosco on Jan. 3 at home.

7. St. Pius (10-3)

The Warriors are in a weird spot. After winning the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, they go 2-2 in the Classic at Damien's Gold Division, including a loss to West Ranch.

8. Corona Centennial (12-7)

The Huskies will enter 2024 with seven losses, but winning the Big VIII League could solidify their Open Division playoff hopes - which would include likely beating Roosevelt twice.

9. Sierra Canyon (14-1)

The record looks impressive, but the schedule is not. The Trailblazers need to finish top two in the Mission League in order to earn an Open Division playoff berth. Isaiah Elohim is eyeing a return from injury next week. He has not played all year.

10. Damien (13-3)

Nate Garcia continues to be a problem, but Xavier Clinton's guard play has taken an extra leap after how he looked in the Classic at Damien. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Baseline League produced the CIF-SS Division 1 champion in February.

Damien senior Xavier Clinton.
Damien senior Xavier Clinton

11. Windward (13-3)

The Wildcats go 3-1 in the Platinum Division at Damien, which makes them a heavy favorite to win the Gold Coast League.

12. Etiwanda (14-1)

Defense. Defense. Defense. And Amare Campbell, of course. The Eagles went 3-1 in the Classic at Damien (Gold).

13. Pasadena (15-1)

The Bulldogs won the Classic at Damien Silver Division, led by Jovan Jester's 31 points. Sophomore forward Josh Irving is developing into a quality prospect at 6-foot-8. 

14. Crespi (17-2)

So far, the Derek Fisher experiment has been a raging success. The Celts fell to Canyon View (Ariz.) in the second division of the Torrey Pines. Joe Sterling was named All-Tournament.

15. Redondo Union (11-4)

Redondo went 2-2 in the Classic at Damien (Gold), including a loss to St. Pius. The Sea Hawks will compete for a league title against Mira Costa (Jan. 16 and Feb. 1).

16. Santa Margarita (13-4)

Can Santa Margarita take a game off JSerra, Mater Dei or St. John Bosco. Only time will tell, but the addition of DeMarco Johnson certainly helps. Brayden Kyman and Cameron McNamee are playing well.

17. West Ranch (8-8)

A win over St. Pius on the last day of the Classic at Damien keeps the Wildcats in the top 25.

18. Los Alamitos (13-3)

The Griffins win the Tustin Classic Tournament.

19. La Mirada (11-7)

The Matadores take a step back after going 0-4 in the Classic at Damien, but the schedule difficulty will pay off for them down the road - that's a fact.

20. Long Beach Poly (10-7)

The Jackrabbits make a Top 25 debut after beating St. Francis and Westlake in back-to-back victories to win the Holiday Hoopfest (at St. Francis). Jovani Ruff won tourney MVP.

21. Mira Costa (12-4)

The Mustangs will eye a Bay League title in 2024, but will have to battle with Redondo Union for it.

22. Village Christian (11-5)

The Crusaders went 3-1 in the Desert Holiday Classic.

23. St. Anthony

Saints fall short 59-62 in the Championship of the Senators Division at Torrey Pines to La Costa Canyon. Both squads rely on good guard play. Quincy Phillips and JoJo Wicker are very good. 

24. San Gabriel Academy (7-4)

The Eagles fall in the Classic at Damien Silver Division but show they've got the pieces to be a contender in Division 2A. Sam Kossi at guard is 6-foot-6, and SGA's two freshmen centers, Mohamed Toure and Mahamadou Diop, are 6-8 and 6-10, respectively.

25. St. Francis (14-4)

Mazi Mosley continues to fill it up.

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(Photos by Heston Quan)

Published
Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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